Corn futures were 2 1/2 to 3 3/4 cents lower on Thursday. There was general commodity selling ahead of Friday’s raft of USDA reports and in the face of an extended dollar rally. The nearly a month delayed weekly Export Sales report showed 503,117 MT in old crop corn sales in the Christmas week ending 12/27. That was down from the week prior as expected but still well above the same week last year. Ahead of Friday’s USDA reports, analysts surveyed by Reuters are expecting US 18/19 carryout to be trimmed by 73 mbu to 1.708 bbu. They also estimate that Argentine production will be slightly higher at 43.09 MMT and Brazil will drop 1.09 to 93.41 MMT.

Mar 19 Corn closed at $3.76 1/2, down 3 1/2 cents,

May 19 Corn closed at $3.84 1/4, down 3 3/4 cents,

Jul 19 Corn closed at $3.92 1/4, down 3 1/2 cents

Sep 19 Corn closed at $3.95 1/4, down 3 1/4 cents

--provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Soybean futures were down 6 1/4 to 8 1/2 cents per bushel by the close, but bounced back from double digit mid-session declines. Meal futures were down $3.50/ton in the nearby contracts, with soy oil 9 points lower. An Administration official suggested that President Trump and China’s President Xi are unlikely to meet before the March 1 deadline, which apparently discouraged folks expecting an immediate fix. The weekly Export Sales report indicated 1.051 MMT of soybeans were sold in the week of December 27. That was down 56% from the preceding non-holiday week as you would expect, but 121.4% larger than the same week last year. China purchased 808,000 MT in that week. Soy meal sales were at 40,597 MT, with soy oil at 15,963 MT. The average trade estimate for 18/19 US soybean ending stocks on Friday’s WASDE release is 926 mbu, which is down 29 mbu from the December report. Analysts estimate Brazil’s soybean crop at 116.99 MMT on average, a drop of 5 MMT from the December report if realized.

Mar 19 Soybeans closed at $9.13 1/4, down 8 1/2 cents,

May 19 Soybeans closed at $9.27 1/4, down 8 1/2 cents,

Jul 19 Soybeans closed at $9.41, down 8 1/4 cents,

Sep 19 Soybeans closed at $9.49, down 7 1/2 cents,

Mar 19 Soybean Meal closed at $305.50, down $3.50,

Mar 19 Soybean Oil closed at $30.81, down $0.09

--provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Wheat futures ended the Thursday session with most contracts 7 to 13 cents lower, with the winter wheat contracts the weakest. All wheat export sales in the week that ended on December 27 were reported at 593,002 MT this morning. That was 12.7% above the week prior and more than 4 times larger than the same Christmas week in 2017. The trade was more concerned about the rising US dollar and Russian hints of more active export sales in March. Japan’s weekly MOA tender showed a total of 59,492 MT of US wheat purchased, with the balance of the 131,165 MT total from Canada and Australia. Friday’s WASDE report is expected to show another increase to the US wheat carryout estimate at 989, 15 mbu larger than the Dec update. Egypt’s GASC released another tender for wheat this afternoon for the last half of March delivery and results to be announced tomorrow.

Mar 19 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.13 1/4, down 12 3/4 cents,

Mar 19 KCBT Wheat closed at $4.96 1/4, down 13 cents,

Mar 19 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.64 1/2, down 8 3/4 cents

--provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Live cattle futures saw mixed trade on Thursday with front months steady to 32.5 cents lower and back months higher. There were 40 delivery notices against Feb on Wednesday night. Feeder cattle futures were steady to 50 cents higher. The CME feeder cattle index was up 28 cents on February 6 at $141.81. Wholesale boxed beef prices were lower on Thursday afternoon. Choice boxes were down 86 cents at $216.71 with Select 74 cents lower at $211.53. Week to date USDA estimated FI cattle slaughter is 470,000 head through Thursday. That is up 7,000 head from last week and the same week last year. Carcass weights have been running light due to poor pen conditions. Cash bids have been light this week with a few starting out at $121 in the South and $196 in the North. We saw limited sales of $124+ on yesterday’s FCE auction.

Feb 19 Cattle closed at $126.300, down $0.100,

Apr 19 Cattle closed at $126.825, down $0.325,

Jun 19 Cattle closed at $117.150, down $0.075,

Mar 19 Feeder Cattle closed at $143.250, up $0.075

Apr 19 Feeder Cattle closed at $144.875, up $0.025

May 19 Feeder Cattle closed at $145.900, up $0.375

--provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Lean Hog futures were mostly 45 cents to $1.30 in the red on Thursday. The CME Lean Hog Index was down 20 cents from the previous day @ $57.16 on February 5. The USDA pork carcass cutout value was down 50 cents on Thursday afternoon at an average weighted price of $65.11. The national base cash hog carcass value was down 23 cents in the PM report, with a weighted average of $49.52 USDA estimated FI hog slaughter for the week at 1.885 million head through Thursday. That is well above the previous week and 41,000 head larger than the same week last year. Delayed USDA export sales reporting for the week ending 12/27 showed 33,100 MT booked that week, with China buying 14,500 MT net.

Feb 19 Hogs closed at $55.275, down $0.650,

Apr 19 Hogs closed at $59.600, down $1.300

May 19 Hogs closed at $67.350, down $1.025

--provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Cotton futures closed Thursday with most contracts 13 to 94 points lower. A stronger dollar provided some pressure. Upland cotton sales in the week that ended on 12/27 totaled 228,202 RB for 18/19 and 32,208 RB for 19/20. The old crop sales were the second largest only behind the week prior as total sales were down 9.31% from a year ago. A total of 28,434 RB in net sales were reported to China in the export sales report for the week ending 12/27 which was released this morning. The Cotlook A Index was up 40 points on February 6 to 82.65 cents/lb. The USDA Adjusted World Price is 64.61 cents/lb through next Thursday, down 46 points from the previous week.

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